Japanese snake gourd

Lace-like flowers bloom at night.

Scientific name	Trichosanthes cucumeroides
English name	Japanese snake gourd
Japanese name	烏瓜
Classification	eudicots
Classification details	Cucurbitales Cucurbitaceae
Full length	A creeper that grows to several meters.
Distribution	Distributed from Hokkaido to Kyushu.

Characteristics

A plant of the Cucurbitaceae family that blooms with white lace-like flowers around five petals. It is a creeper that grows by twisting its vines.

The leaves are palmate and about 10cm long. The fruit is oval and bright vermilion.

Ecology

In early summer, white flowers bloom from evening to night. These flowers wilt the next day. They bloom again at night.

In autumn, they bear oval vermilion fruit.

Habitat

Roadside in Machida City

I took a photo of it blooming in the evening on a rainy day.

The white flowers that had completely wilted when I saw it in the morning were starting to bloom. The raindrops stuck to the lace and looked beautiful. They were growing in abundance on a slope that was not well maintained.